On Monday a group of us gathered at the Capitol to meet with over a dozen legislators about the need to strengthen Minnesota’s child protection system.
We shared the stories of children in our families, clinics and neighborhoods who have been abused or even killed. Warning signs were ignored. One or more parts of the system didn’t work as intended. And children paid the price.
Representative West addressed our group to share the story of his young daughter, who was abused at daycare. He and his wife noticed bruises and strange marks on her body, but never suspected staff at their daughter’s daycare was responsible.
For that reason, he has sponsored a package of bills aimed at protecting babies and toddlers at child care centers, which he explained during an interview with MPR this week. Dr. Lisa Hollensteiner, chair of Safe Passage, testified this week in support of his bill that would require cameras in some daycare centers.
Additionally, Representative Knudsen joined our group to explain her bill that would impose a five-year felony on persons who expose children to fentanyl.
We also sat across from individual representatives and senators, urging them to prioritize the safety and wellbeing of children. Although we are monitoring many bills, we focused on these four:
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Strengthening training for mandated reporters (HF 1346 Nash | SF 2350 Draheim)
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Discouraging young children’s exposure to fentanyl (HF 897 Knudsen | SF 456 Utke)
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Maintaining safety standards for relatives providing foster care (HF 1424 Hanson | SF 1786 Maye Quade)
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Assessing state dollars toward child protection (HF 2135 Pinto | SF 1898 Kunesh)
We’ll continue to advocate for these and other bills through the end of the session. If you’d like to help, consider making a financial contribution or volunteering your time.
Safe Passage is advocating not only for data transparency, but also for improvements in our child welfare system. As the only government watchdog group of its kind in Minnesota, we invite you to join us in looking out for kids.